


Strange Remembrance

by LunaLightEclipse



Category: Bleach, モノノ怪 | Mononoke (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Bad Parent Kurosaki Isshin, How Do I Tag, Kusuriuri has no idea how to child, Masaki is best mom, Reincarnation, She loves her odd son
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:27:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23203930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaLightEclipse/pseuds/LunaLightEclipse
Summary: He remembers his other self in front of him arm reached out in an unusual display of emotion.(Why do you look so afraid?)He opens his eyes and he’s in the body of a child, it seems he has more than Mononoke to deal with now.(If only the fools that surrounded him would stop lying it made everything so much harder.)
Comments: 60
Kudos: 332
Collections: Identity Crisis





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wanna write shit but I have other shit to do. God procrastination sucks. I’ll be productive some day. 
> 
> So I watched Mononoke (the twelve episode anime series) and wow it was really good. I found it by accident and it was so interesting. If you haven’t watched it I would recommend it. The style is very unique and I wish that there was more.

Surrounding him are the dissipating wails of the Mononoke, nothing unusual. It had been something routine, if interesting, that he had been doing for hundreds of years.

But in the process of splitting again, of sealing the sword, of separating from his other self, something warped and changed. Air supercharged with energy. Not malicious but overbearing in a way nothing had been for a long, long time.

Kusuriuri (what people had taken To calling him since he had no name) felt the sensation of falling, ofuda sprang up in a spiral tower and the usual eye pattern opened up in gold instead of red.

His other self reached out towards him in an unusual display of emotion. Other self was usually impassive- at most mildly agitated or amused. _He looked so afraid, so desperate and sad._

It stirred some human emotion that he hadn’t felt in a long time, so long in fact that he wasn’t quite sure what it was.

Kusuriuri disliked it.

(There was an apology in the background,”I’m sorry, so sorry. I have to give you get another burden. I have tried to think of some other solution but I cannot. I’m so sorry.” They only barely noticed it.)

Their existence twisted and pulled, he let himself fall into unconsciousness.

* * *

When he next awakens he is in the body of an infant. Kusuriuri cursed out whoever had done this to him. He hated being helpless.

_Something within him gave a hum of agreement, but in the haze of lingering pain and confusion he couldn’t hear it._

Perhaps a person would normally be mortified to be in the body of a helpless child but Kusuriuri had long since passed the age where he felt embarrassment. That may have just been his solitary life style speaking.

Dazed he tilts his head to look around the room only for his cheek to hit something metal.

Familiar cool metal and glass. It was so big to his small baby body, but it is one of his most precious belongings.

When he looked in it his other self, thankfully not child sized as well, gave a relieved smile. Perhaps they could talk later. When he wasn’t so tired.

Kusuriuri curled his small body around the mirror protectively and went to sleep.

* * *

A few minutes, she had been out the of the room for a few minutes.

Ichigo had become very tired all of a sudden and wasn’t appreciating being moved every few seconds as she tried to put some items away and had let him rest in his cot.

(Ichigo had always seemed to be strangely tired though, the boy hardly did anything but sleep. The doctors were awfully concerned but after no physical issue could be found Urahara ruled it out as being due to his hybrid nature. Perhaps his soul his overexerting itself with its newness. She hoped.)

When she had come back her child had a mirror. A mirror which she had never seen before in her life. 

So she called the only person she could about mirrors appearing from thin air.

”Urahara-san. What do you do if an object you have never seen before in you life suddenly appears in your house.”

”I- _have never had that happen to me before._ Please explain the situation to me.”

* * *

He was still tired. However this rude person didn’t seem to care all that much. A hand tried to slowly wrap its way around the mirror. Kusuriuri tightened his weak grip, opened his eyes and glared. 

”I don’t think little Ichigo wants to let go of it Masaki-san.”

”I do not care. Just be careful I don’t want him to get hurt.”

The man started pulling on it.

Kusuriuri grabbed on to the mirror necklaces string not wanting to just hand it over. Sure he could get it back but that would be more effort than it would be to just keep hold of it now.

Also he didn’t feel like separating with his only current way to see his other self.

”Ichigo please give Urahara the mirror.”

Kusuriuri did the only thing his baby body would let him do.

He _screeched._

The man (Urahara?) startled and let go. “His eyes have changed colour.”

Masaki(?) looked mildly surprised. “They are blue.”

 _Whoops._ He wasn’t quite sure what he had done but he felt marginally stronger than before, a little more normal.

The Urahara man reached out for the mirror again. A temari ball coloured the same as his usual clothes with a gold and red eye pattern repeated four times around it appeared from thin air and beamed the man in the head.

They stopped trying to get the mirror.

_Also his name was Ichigo, he had a name now._

_Holy shi-_

* * *

Urahara seemed to be followed by misfortune for the next month. Both simple and complex things.

He misplaced his laptop, tea or other such objects. Other times- 

Thankfully he heard familiar heavy footsteps on the other side of the door. “Tessai. I seem to be locked in the storage room.”

”Sir the storage room has no locks.”

_”I know~ please let me out, I have been in here for hours.”_

His home was also strangely plagued with Temari balls with glowing red and gold eye patterns on the side and the occasional laughter.

Any attempts to collect them or take pictures, or draw them, or make any such record of their existance resulted in further misfortune.

He _never_ tried to take the mirror again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our dear medicine seller got suddenly shoved into the body of a child and now Urahara is being a prick. 
> 
> Other self and Kusuriuri/Ichigo wasn’t very happy with that and decided to curse him for a bit.


	2. Chapter 2

Her child. _Her child was_ _really odd._ Not once did he say a word for the first years of his life but the moment he could hold a pencil _he was writing._

So Ichigo was born with natural knowledge on the Japanese language. Not normal. 

He had no interest in toys and would instead read and read and read. Digital devices confused him and so did shirts apparently. Not normal.

No matter how long he stood in the sun he never went anywhere above paper white. He also never burned. Also not normal.

The mirror had never separated from him. At first she would bunch up the string and pin it to his blanket. When he was four and steadily walking on his own two feat she undid the sting and tied it in a way that he could wear it. (It was clearly a necklace just not one for a child.)

Masaki never had to hold onto Ichigo tightly in fear that he would just wander of. He always stood patiently by her side, the other parents in the area were incredibly jealous and kept asking her how she does it.

She had _no idea._

There was never any fear of her son wandering off until one day. He did. They had passed the shrine but there had been an interesting shop not far off so she had stopped.

And the little weight of her sons hand on her skirt _disappeared._

The moment she noticed it she had quickly turned round in search of her son. After a brief panic she found him. Stood by the torii gate at the base of the stairs, he turned back to her.

”Do you want to go up there Ichigo?” 

Her boy hummed and nodded. 

”Alright just don’t disappear like that it’s very scary.”

”Mm sorry.” It was so rare to hear her sons voice but somehow despite him speaking so sparingly it was always clear.

So they began to ascend the steps, it had been so long since she had last entered a shrine. After all when you could see the dead and what they could turn into you lost some faith when you never once saw any signs of some kind of god.

Other than the Reio but that was a name only spread through the Shinigami, hollows and Quincy.

Eventually. _Eventually_ they made it up the steps (far too many of you were to ask her) and Ichigo hardly seemed bothered.

The miko’s were staring at her child, she didn’t like that. Ichigo left some money in the offering box then wandered seemingly inspecting the place for something or another.

The miko’s were getting increasingly fidgety. One approached her and asked if that was her son. She answered yes, there was no reason to lie.

They asked if she would wait here a moment. So she did because why not. The miko disappeared for a few minutes and came back with a very large box on her back.

While Masaki would have described what the box looked like. _She couldn’t._ After all every surface except for the rope handles were positively covered in ofuda.

This was quickly becoming the weirdest day of her life.

”I think you will find your son quite happy to be in possession of this. Here you go.” And just left her with the large box before scurrying away.

It looked awfully heavy.

(It was.)

Ichigo reappeared, murmured something to another miko, got handed a cloth bag with god knows what in it and came running back to her. _The amount he was eyeing the box was making her distinctly uncomfortable.  
_

”Come on Ichigo we need to go home now.” 

Her forever polite boy nodded and they set of back down the stairs. It was very difficult with the box on her back.

When she got back home (not without a great deal of staring) Isshin was rightfully confused.

”Box?”

”Ichigo got really interested in the shrine so I took him up there and the miko’s just kind of handed me it. They said that,’Your son would be very happy to have this,’ and left it with me.”

Isshin made a confused grunt and walked of somewhere, probably in search of Urahara who after apparently being cursed was mildly terrified of Ichigo.

Ichigo didn’t know the box was for him so she could keep it in her room until she got Urahara to check it- 

A tug on her skirt got her attention,”Box.” With how demanding he had said that single word there was no other choice.

The box was placed on the floor of his near empty room.

Her son smiled, another rare occurrence.

* * *

Kusuriuri- Ichigo, he still wasn’t sure what to call himself in his head, was strangely liking the quietness of his semi-normal house life.

He says semi-normal because neither of his parents were human and he hadn’t been human in seven hundred years.

After the attempted mirror thievery and a well deserved long nap, he had looked back into the mirror and listened to his other selfs uncharacteristic panicking.

Oh. _Oh._

_His other self had been afraid of losing him._

_Oh._

Well then. 

He wasn’t quite sure what to do with the knowledge that his other self, that had quite suddenly been dumped upon him one day and was previously incredibly hostile, had been _afraid of losing him._

Kusuriuri mentally reassured his other self and made sure to avoid getting in too much danger. The sickening levels of panic-fear that he had been able to feel in the back of his mind wasn’t very fun.

When he eventually got the chance to look in a normal mirror. He had to stop and double, then triple check himself.

Good lord, his hair was orange. Honest to god orange. He could feel his other self cackling in the back of his head. It was also spiky. He was _definitely_ growing his hair out again. That was his only hope of taming the disaster that took place upon his head.

There was no attempt at trying to act like a normal child, his parents quickly caught on to his advancement over _literally everyone of his supposed age_ and had reduced the babying.

His room was simple, after so long not really living anywhere he wasn’t quite sure how to decorate but he would get there some day.

He had a bed, a desk with a step to get onto the chair _and not much else._

When he one day eventually passed a shrine his mother had quickly agreed to taking him up to it.

See this is what being a good child got you.

When they got there he was quite pleased to see that it was a shrine that he had killed a mononoke in just a few years before meaning that if any weird shit happened they wouldn’t just dismiss it. 

An offering was left, he inspected the place for anything malicious and was generally left to do his thing.

One of the miko walked up to him, the more perceptive one if he remembered correctly and knelt down so she could speak to him. “Kusuriuri?”

”Perhaps.”

”Oh that’s definitely you, is there anything here?” 

”Other than the kami and lingering blessings, no.”

”Thank goodness, how did you find yourself in the form of a child.”

”Unsure.”

The miko frowned and went to get something. Once he was done looking around he was handed a small cloth bag of charms. Ichigo went back to his mother. 

His mother who had his medicine chest.

That was _very nice._

A single word was all it took to dissuade any idea of the box not being left with him. All he had to do was put up with having mirror thief poke at it.

Good luck to him.

Kusuriuri sat there as Urahara carefully pealed of every piece of ofuda paper and pointed a strange machine at his box. His face scrunched up in mild frustration. Mirror thief tried to open the box.

His frustration grew as the lid wouldn’t open, the top draws were the same. The middle one did open.

That one held most of his ‘spirit’ items. Some bottles of ink which definitely had his blood in it, a few brushes, a dozen more ofuda which restocked every time he went back into the draw, some more temari (but with closed eyes) which Urahara let out a strangled scream at and some of the scales which also mysteriously multiplied and disappeared as required.

His parents and thief man raised their eyebrows simultaneously. As a test of curiosity he held out a finger, their eyebrows raised further.

The contents of his box jingled and the scales floated smoothly over to him, point landing on the end of his finger.

His father choked on his tea.

The scales nodded to him and let down their bells. Following his hands path the bell judged. When it got to Urahara the scales turned and tipped on end towards the man.

He was looking very unsettled, good.

The scales did not point at his mother but they did nod at her. She seemed pleased at this development. 

The scales straight up threw itself at his father and became imbedded in the wall. Isshin who had just barely dodged it looked on the verge of tears.

”Hm.” Kusuriuri shook his finger and the scales put itself back into the draw. His father was very unsettled.

Urahara carefully slid the middle draw shut and opened the bottom one.

The bottom draw held a single box in it. Which Urahara opened. They quickly freaked at the sword and went to take it.

Yeah _no. “_ Please put that back.”

”Ichigo _you can’t just have a sword._ You could hurt yourself.” She sounded like she was in disbelief that she was having to explain the fact that she couldn’t give a four year old a sword.

”It needs requirements to even be unsheathed. I’m not going to hurt myself on it.”

Urahara was now interested in the requirement thing.

Ughhhh.

Otherself was getting uncomfortable.

Kusuriuri snatched it out of thief’s hands and put it away slamming the draw shut. Any further attempts to open the draw failed. Any attempts to pick it up also failed.

They have in and left it with him. His mother tried to ground him only to realise that he hardly ever went out to play and almost never used a phone or computer. What was she going to do? Ground her son from _books._ That was just poor parenting.

Ichigo remained ungrounded. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Masaki- That is a sword!
> 
> Kusuriuri/Ichigo- Look upon me and see my lack of cares.  
> ——  
> Kusuriuri/Ichigo- This is the asshole who tried to take my mirror. Prick.  
> ——  
> Isshin- Those weird point things with bells don’t like me. B I G F E A R.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter of the day.
> 
> Also this chapter is Kusuriuri deciding that living in a bedroom that looks like a prison is not the best idea. He also learns to own more things than what fits in a box.
> 
> Kusuriuri has very strong opinions on what counts as furniture and clothing and Masaki is shaken from the entire shopping trip.  
> ——  
> Also Masaki and Isshin are very confused by Ichigo’s weird behaviour but they are also mildly amused. While they don’t know that they have a seven hundred year old being in a child’s body they do know he isn’t exactly human and are willing to put up with his oddities.

The Kusuriuri put a barrier around his room and sat down on the floor. 

You see, normally other self floated around in the nowhere space of his head, he just used the mirror to see him. Except apparently his head wasn’t full of absolutely nothing anymore.

So he meditates, and once again he is hit with a falling sensation. Similar to the one when he lets out his other self though that was more separation.

When he opens his eyes again he is sat on a bridge. 

”I didn’t expect to see this place again.”

 **”It’s not the same, I think your mind took different places from your memories and created this.”** His other self sweeps an arm then tugs at his hair, **”This as well.”**

His hair, while usually a light grey, was now perfectly white. 

Looking down to the bridge he is standing on he can see that the stone walkway has been replaced with a singular large mirror. In fact all the paths in this place was made of mirrors. 

It seemed that in his ‘mind world’ he took on a slightly different appearance. He once again had his pointy ears and sharp teeth, the red markings on his face and body had returned and the light blue permanent smile was painted on his upper lip.

The familiarity was nice.

He looked around again. On the right side of the bridge was a greyed out modern city with tall buildings, a train station. The train where he killed the bakeneko was present too. There were colourful statues of the people that he had met or killed when they had become mononoke.

On the other side the glass pathway led up to a mountain with a shrine. The buildings on this side were colourful and in traditional Japanese building style.

The inn that had once been a brothel had a stone statue of the pregnant lady sat on a bench out front. The buildings ranged from the poorest shacks to the richest castles in no particular order.

Kayo’s statue was petting a stone cat and Ocho was standing at the top of the highest building looking at the sky.

The sky was relatively normal if you ignored the giant stylised eye in the sky in place of the sun. 

The sky blinked at him. 

He blinked back.

**”Also there’s this guy sleeping on the shrine floor but I have no idea who he is or where he came from.”**

_Weird._

Kusuriuri could feel someone trying to get in his room.”I need to go.”

Otherself nodded and walked of. He wasn’t sure how he knew but he stepped onto the stone railing of the bridge and jumped.

(Icy cold surrounded him, filling his lungs. For once he was free but only to-)

He woke up to knocking on his door.

”Ichigo? Ichigo? I don’t know why I can’t get in but could you open the door?”

He took the seals from the doorframe and stuffed them in his pocket.”Yes?”

Masaki looked down at him in relief, oh it was probably worrying for a human child to lock himself in his room. He should probably avoid worrying her further.

”You said you wanted to paint you room something other than white so I thought you would want to come come with me to get some paint.” Oh yeah. He was going to begin his attempts at making his bedroom look less like a prison cell and more like someone lived there.

”Hm.” He went and picked up a scale from his box. It wouldn’t be out of place for a child to have what looked like a toy. “Ok.”

Since they were going to be carrying some heavy stuff, for some reason mother said that they were getting some new furniture too, father was driving them.

Kusuriuri wasn’t really a fan of cars. They were loud and vibrated a lot. 

Apparently someone called Hirako was going to help carry big objects because they also needed furniture but he himself or none of his friends could drive.

Masaki took his hand and they walked into the store while Isshin went into the neighbouring one. His mothers eyebrows slowly raised with every new colour of paint. Teal, yellow, purple, red, blue, green, brown, black and some white.

”You going to make the walls really pretty?”

”Perhaps.” Masaki chuckled at the familiar vague answer.

”Ok then mr mysterious.”

Carefully he asked,”Can I get a bookshelf?”

Her face lit up.”Mr mysterious wants furniture now? Of course! Is there anything else you would like?”

Huh. But wasn’t that selfish to ask for so much for yourself.

**”She is not them.”**

Ah.

He happily pointed out some furnishings for his room.

Actual wood furniture. Not that cheap wood chip bullshit people called furniture. The stuff you buy and it just turns out to be lies. If the lowest peasants two hundred years ago didn’t need that shit then neither did he now.

* * *

After several months of pushing it seemed her son had finally relented. She was going to use this opportunity to its fullest and take her son shopping.

You see while she could have just _bought_ her son things he was incredibly picky. Especially when she had tried to put a small cabinet in his room only for it to come flying out of the window an hour later with what sounded like,”CHEAP LIYING BULLSHIT!” She still wasn’t sure how he got it out of the window in the first place.

Apparently if it wasn’t solid wood or metal then it was lies and shouldn’t even exist. 

The same thing happened with a couple sets of clothes she had brought. Itchy fake fabric and shitty stitching didn’t count as clothes either. 

(She has lost count how many times she had to give a hard tap to his head, Ichigo you can’t just swear at everything you don’t like! Please at least not in public!)

So yes it was hard to buy anything for him so when he had suggested _putting furniture in his room._ She jumped on it and pulled him to a clothing store as well.

Apparently it wasn’t just the paint, his clothing choices were bizarre and colourful as well. He had leaned as much towards traditional clothing as he could without people thinking him to odd. 

Not that he could really avoid that if he thought wearing mirrors and tying a knot in his hair to stick the (what he called) scales into was normal. The bells jingled with every turn of his head, they hadn’t tried to impale Isshin again so far.

Still they hadn’t got much from the several shops they had gone through. As a compromise she had brought several reams of fabric and coloured thread and said that perhaps it would be easier for her to just _make_ his clothes by hand.

He looked a little sheepish at that.

Ichigo spotted some shady looking shop down an ally way. How he managed to find the only shop in the area with weird magic stuff in it was beyond her.

The entire ordeal ended with a full wardrobe, the books no longer just stacked up in the corner of the room. A cupboard to put his ever increasing amount of paper, ink and charms. And a singular potted plant.

Ichigo had to be the strangest four year old to ever exist.

(If only she knew Ichigo wasn’t actually four but seven hundred.)

* * *

After a an entire year he had finally finished the project. His walls were now covered in paintings of trees, buildings, oceans and many kinds of fish. There was a sunset across the sliding wardrobe doors.

If one was to know Kusuriuri’s past they would have been able to recognise some of the places and people he had painted. Kayo/Chiyo was present in multiple places. She was always an odd souls. In both reincarnations he had met. The scales had liked her too.

In several places were also hints of the mononoke he had encountered. After all they didn’t choose to be bad. Sometimes they didn’t even realise they were mononoke at all. If he was the only one who remembered them then he could put them here to.

His mother had been incredibly impressed with the entire thing and bought him a mixed selection of sweets. It was nice to try such a variety.

The wind blew through the slightly open window ringing the wind chimes and bells that he had hung on his curtain rail. Orange and yellow lit up his room as the warmth of the lowering sun hit his face. His little sisters laughter emanating from the other room.

He has never realised how lonely he had been before.

The wind stopped and all he could hear was silence. His lucky cat money box fell from the shelf and shattered. The sun had set giving way to night.

There was a bitter smell in the air, it was confusing. He wasn’t entirely sure if it was a Mononoke.

* * *

Masaki and Isshin jumped into a fighting position, she wasn’t sure what had caused it but she soon knew something was wrong. Her girls had gone silent with a look of fear.

Also the protective charms that Ichigo had hung or placed in every room of the house were vibrating, some of the smaller ones had disintegrated.

Ofuda paper had appeared, one on each wall. 

There was something malicious in the area.

* * *

The scale left sitting on top of his medicine chest sat up and tipped towards his window. There was something out there. It sounded like a women and child crying overlapping and warped.

Going against all of his survival instincts he put his head out of the window. What he saw was an abomination. He recognised who this spirit was formed from. They had gone missing a week ago and it had been all over the news. 

Their form was an ever shifting mass of fur, flesh energy and eyes. Both bodies stuck out the side haphazardly, a smooth inky black mask covered both their faces. The only detail was eye holes that showed a bare minimum of their terrified expression.

It both was and wasn’t a mononoke. He sat on his window ledge with his sword gripped tightly in one hand.

”Who did this to you?”

”Don’t- **know-** “ 

That’s was problematic. “Do you know what you are?”

“M **an s** aid **mo** nonok **e- said holl** ow.” His sword clicked. What in the name of kami was a hollow.

The girl and her mother- and whatever abomination was attached to them- was beginning to act erratically.

His sword slipped from its sheathe-

_How. That was impossible!_

Istead of the usual shower of colours emanating from the handle there was instead a glowing light blue blade that looked far more like normal metal.

”Hit its mask! Quickly!” He didn’t know who was talking to him but he listened anyways, this night seemed to be full of unknowns.

Dodging the whips of energy that flew towards him he slashed both masks in half.

They thanked him as he saw their spirits disintegrate into nothing.

“ICHIGO!” 

He could hear his mother knocking hard on his bedroom door. Kusuriuri scaled the wall, hopped into his bedroom and shoved the sword into the box. He then answered the door. 

”Yes?”

His mother squinted at him the calmly explained,“Those charm things you stuck around the house were glowing and vibrating.”

”Hmm. There must have been something bad nearby. It’s stopped now though so it must be gone.” Definitely not because he killed it. What are you talking about.

Masaki frowned again. “Ok, if you say so.” Then walked of.

Kusuriuri gently pushed the door shut then collapsed on the floor. _What the hell was going on._

**”Ok now that’s over with. Who in the hell are you!”**

”I don’t see why it concerns you. You shouldn’t be here anyways.”

**”SHOULDN’T BE HERE!”** His other self streaked.

Good god the voices in his head were arguing. Had he finally gone insane?

**”What _are you?”_**

The man sniffed,”I am a Quincy.”

What. Was that.

**”I have never once heard of a Quincy in my life. And before you start calling me young I’m seven hundred. That’s plenty of time to hear about weird shit like you!”**

”Seven hundred? That would make no sense, you are a part of Ichigo.”

Kusuriuri slammed his window shut and went to sleep. The warmth of his blanket was the only distraction he had from the increasing argument.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me hinting about medicine sellers past? Mayhaps.  
> ——  
> Kusuriuri/Ichigo- The sky just blinked at me.  
> This is normal I’m fine.
> 
> Other self- This is a representation of your mind.
> 
> Kusuriuri/Ichigo- I’m perfectly fine. (Stained grinning.)
> 
> ——  
> Kusuriuri/Ichigo- THIS BITCH FAKE. YEET!
> 
> ——  
> Personally I like to think that seven hundred years of only owning business items and the clothes on his back would make him entire confused the concept of decorating.  
> Once he figures it out he loves it.   
> ——  
> Masaki- The weird shit you put in our house is doing weird things.
> 
> Kusuriuri/Ichigo- How odd. Definitely nothing to do with me.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day the argument had thankfully stopped, instead of yelling Kusuriuri could feel the two glaring at each other across his mindscape.

While he had hoped that yesterday’s _incident_ would have been left alone. It seems that he was out of luck.

“Ichigo we’re going to be staying with someone else for a few days. Why don’t you pack some things in your box, your going to need clothes. And if you want something to do a book or two.” Masaki was hurriedly packing Karin’s, Yuzu’s, Isshin’s and her own belongings and Isshin had been told to sit and wait as he was a walking disaster.

He hummed in agreement and wandered to his room to pack things away. Kusuriuri wasn’t very glad that he had taken the time to spell his box larger on the inside. It meant that dispite the fact there was already so much in it he could fit more.

Opening the lid of the box he came face to face with his old clothes, ones he was currently miles to small to wear. He pushed them down to make more space. Neatly he folded clothes and sleep wear, books, paper, hairbrush and bands and his toothbrush.

Kusuriuri also put as many luck and protection charms as he could inside and hung more off the red rope that kept the lid on.

Isshin had the unfortunate luck of having to carry the box to the car. Said box still had the scales inside which clearly had something against the man. Every step he took the box would jingle and shake.

”Ichigo what are those things.” His father was slightly out of breath. Apparently the box was heavy.

”Scales.”

”That. Doesn’t answer _anything.”_

”Hn.”

The box was pushed into the car boot. Kusuriuri had the dubious honour of middle seat in the back. He says dubious because he’s on sister watch and he really doesn’t now how to deal with babies. 

They were very cute though. No one was coming anywhere near them.

 **”And this is you getting attached, here I thought you had lost all capability of caring about someone else.”** His other self was grinning through the mirror. Their hair floating in nonexistent winds.

”Look at them. Look at them and tell me you wouldn’t kill for them.”

**”Fair point.”**

Kusuriuri looked over to his right where Yuzu sat in her carrier. She had a bunny teddy’s ear half in her mouth. Yuzu smile at him. 

He smiled back.

**”The height of adorable.”**

”Shut up.”

Masaki got in the car and looked over to him,”Did you say something Ichigo?”

”Perhaps.” 

His mother chuckled at the reply. 

The car ride was rather dull. Which was entirely the fault of the protection charms because Kusuriuri was certain that something was trying to kill them.

His blue beaded bracelet turned to dust. He frowned. Kusuriuri turned his mirror trying to catch a glimpse of anything. The mirror always showed his father wearing black traditional garb with something white bunched up and hanging down from one shoulder, he had a sword that when the mirror was pointed at it in a certain way it would reveal a male in armour covered in white flames.

In the mirror his mother was wearing white clothing and in his opinion she looked like an angel with light blue wings and glowing blue eyes, her veins also showed up as glowing blue lines visible on her skin.

Reflecting the mirror out of the window he tried to look for anything amid, it didn’t take long. While he couldn’t seem to find any kind of spirit body the wind which was normally coloured in light purples and blues in this kind of area was deep red, almost like a heavy fog had been placed upon the world.

That was bad, really bad. 

He put the mirror down facing it into his lap. Kusuriuri hoped whatever was out there hadn’t spotted the fact that his mirror was not a normal one.

They arrived at an old looking candy store, Kusuriuri may have made them rush to get inside but he thinks it was pretty reasonable. Especially when his mirror showed that there were barriers stopping the red fog from getting inside.

**”Hm, you feel frightened.”**

Under his breath he murmured,”Well I’m in the body of a five year old, I’m the height of my mothers knee’s. So yes, I am appropriately intimidated by the thing that’s blanketing the _entire_ town.”

Otherself grimaced in his head.

The occupants of the building were very interesting, even if three of them were only visiting for a few days.

Hirako who he had met last year when they went furniture shopping, Hiyori who was short and angry and Lisa. Who his mother was currently lecturing for reading inappropriate books in front on children.

The other three that were already here was the thief, another was a giant of a man named Tessai and the third a cat. So far he hadn’t seen said cat but he was sure it was fine.

He was currently sat on his medicine box, in front of him a table where everyone but Isshin and Uraraka were sat. Hiyori seemed perfectly content to challenge Kusuriuri to a staring contest.

Hiyori glared angrily. Ichigo looked at her calmly. 

”I can’t believe ya getting into a starin’ contest with a child.”

”Shut up baldy!”

They continued the staring contest.

His ears (oversensitive things they were) picked up voices coming towards them.

”Thank you for letting us stay with you on such a short notice.”

”Maa Maa, it’s fine. Honestly if you hadn’t asked I would have. I can’t find any records of reiatsu signatures like that anywhere.”

”Really? You think Aizen’s up to something?”

”Most definitely. There was a slight match with a hollow reiatsu signature but it was buried very quickly under the foreign one.”

”Here’s hoping that soul society didn’t catch it. Dealing with Shinigami would be far more trouble than any of us would like.”

**”Ok I’ve been wondering this since last night, what is a hollow.”**

”A spirit of the dead that has lingered to long in the world of the living. A plus soul has a chain of fate that falls of until there is a hole left where their heart should be. These are called hollows.”

Whoever came up with this sounded like they liked maths. Mentally he made a note to find out about shinigami and who this Aizen person was.

Also this Soul Society?

” The after life. It’s not a good place. The shinigami who’s jobs are to slay hollows and guide souls into soul society only care for themselves. The Rukongai is in disrepair and the districts further out have no protection.”

He was starting to dislike these Shinigami fellows more and more.

Kusuriuri checks his mirror again. The barriers are in perfect shape. What was interesting was Hirako, Hiyori and Lisa. All three of them were dressed like his father was but they had bone white masks on their faces.

”Hollow masks. But that is the garb of a shinigami. High ranked as well. A captain and two lieutenants.”

_Interesting._

* * *

”Aizen-sama. It seems that we cannot find them.”

”Oh? Call back the search. There’s no hurry to get them, after all I think my project is coming out quite nicely.”

”Yes sir!”


	5. Chapter 5

Masaki brushes the hair out of Ichigo’s face. He had finally gone to sleep. It was one in the morning and they had heard him wandering about, after half an hour they finally decided that someone should go check on him. 

Sometimes she wonders, when she looks at her boy if he’s someone else. The day the mirror had appeared her boy had gone almost silent. He hummed answers and would use perhaps in place of yes and no. In return to his odd behaviour she had give him the nickname of Mr Mysterious.

Ichigo had looked surprised when he first heard it, then amused.

Then there was the box and it’s oddities. Those scales which seemed to measure spirits, after all when he had brought them out it had been able to tell who the shinigami were. Ichigo seemed to pull everything out of it from clothes to paper and one time bandages when someone had attempted to mug her. The man had randomly dropped into a deep sleep but she had still been hit with the knife.

Ichigo’s skills in wrapping injuries was worrying, she put it towards the fact that he was a fast learner and had probably just seen it in the clinic.

Every week they would go up to the shrine or other related buildings. He would examine each and every item and pick up items for luck, safety and fortune. They seemed to be working.

There were times when he would talk to himself, after asking the shinigami she had access they all agreed that sounded like zanpakuto. In fact in soul society if someone with reiastu began talking to themselves it was usually cause for celebration as it meant they had the chance to become a very powerful shinigami.

Masaki has spoken to Isshin about it but he had said that they should just live normal human lives. She knew that it was rubbish. It would be best for him to get a hold of his reiatsu earlier instead of later.

Hirako had heard that conversation and pulled her aside later. The following conversation had made her blood boil. Aizen Sousuke. A shinigami traitor that found hollow experimentations interesting.

”Kurosaki-san. Look we wouldn’t normally tell anyone but I fear they’re going to try using your boys nature.” The man looked very desperate.

”Use his nature?” She didn’t like the sound of that. Not at all.

”From the sounds of it the hollow white that you fought was one of Aizens experiments. Now you said that when Ichigo was born all traces of the hollow disappeared from your body. Your a Quincy and Isshin is a shinigami. If I’m right Ichigo would be a hybrid of all three. I fear that they are going to keep him ignorant and out of Aizens sight then throw him at the man.” She trusted him. From what he had seen and heard Hirako was old and observant. It answered so many of her questions.

Anger, boiling hot anger. _Use her boy? Her precious child._ Ichigo was odd, perhaps older than he should be. But he was still her _son. “What am I meant to do? I don’t want that! Please.”  
_

“Honestly from his behaviour he knows something about this spirit business anyways. If we could stage something then we might have a chance to at least prepare him properly. Knowing Kisuke he already has some sort of plan that won’t be stopped but we can at least bend it.” 

That wasn’t what she wanted, she would rather him have nothing to do with it. But it was better than what they wanted. “Ok. Ok. So long as he’s prepared for it.”

”I’m sorry I had to tell you something like that.” He really did too, as this would cause an irreparable rift in her relationship. 

”No no. So long as my children are safe that’s all I want.”

She left for her own room. When she got there she pulled something out of her pocket. It was a small bag with a string attached to it. On the front the kanji for happiness and fortune were embroidered in teal green.

The little trinkets her son made her were so precious to her. She made sure to keep each and every one.

Masaki cried for her child’s future.

* * *

Tatsuki sat down by the wall, not many people wanted to play with her, apparently she was too loud and annoying.

She was also feeling sad because her parents had told her to take a break from karate. Apparently she had to,’Learn something important first.” And had been banned from the dojo until she learnt what it was. She didn’t have the slightest clue where to start.

She couldn’t even ask the teachers because they teachers didn’t like her as her solution to someone being annoying was to punch them. Apparently that was bad but it stopped them from being annoying so she didn’t see what the problem was.

In fact there was only one person who she didn’t dislike and that was Kurosaki Ichigo. She still hadn’t found the courage to go speak to the boy. He was very weird.

There he was. In the doorway Kurosaki had a gentle grip on his moms skirt as his eyes roamed the room. Probably for the best quiet spot. When he found one Masaki gave him a kiss on the forehead and ruffled his hair. 

That was the only time any of them actually saw Kurosaki truly smile. He wondered off towards his quiet spot and pulled something out of his bag. 

He put thread through a needle then stabbed the fabric in his hand. And again. And again. And again. It looked very boring.

Kurosaki stopped after a few minutes and smirked at her, then went back to stabbing the fabric.

People didn’t just smirk at her. If he was gonna then she would go talk to him. So she got up and walked over to him. As loud as always she asked,“What are you doing?” 

He lifted up the wooden frame with the fabric on it to show her half formed flowers. “Making mother a present for her birthday. She likes flowers.”

He really likes his mum. 

“That looks so boring though!”

Kurosaki smirked again like he was expecting her to say that, stabbing the fabric, pulling it through then stabbing upwards.

”Patience. Is necessary yes.” He made a small knot and cut the string, searching through his bag he pulled out another colour.

There he went using big words again.”But patience is boring! What’s the point!”

”It’s about the end result.” Stab and pull, stab and pull.

”End result?”

He looked up at her again and nodded. “Yes. Say if I just leave and stop doing it there would be no point to me even starting. But if I keep going.” He pulled the string through and tied it of again underneath. On the top there was a single complete flower. “I can end up with something beautiful. Sometimes you just have to put in a lot of boring work to get there.”

She frowned, it made sense. Maybe? She wasn’t sure. Kurosaki noticed and frowned back at her.

”Hm. Let’s see, you like karate right?”

”Yeah!” That was her favourite thing!

”Well if you only do a move once your not very good at it are you?”

”No cause you wouldn’t be able to do it pro- properly!”

He smiled at her again. “So you have to do the same thing, hundreds, maybe thousands of times to get it right. Even when it gets dull.”

”Oh! Yeah!” Now it made sense. 

Kurosaki smiled at her again.”I figured that you would need some help with that. No one else was going to help you.”

”What?”

He hummed and went back to stabbing the fabric. Kurosaki didn’t say another word on the matter. Though it had been a miracle that she had gotten that many in the first place. 

She sat herself in front of him and watched. It wasn’t like she had anything better to do anyways.

* * *

When he woke up Kusuriuri went searching for his mother. It didn’t take long but when he found her he became worried. “Mother?”

”Yes Ichigo?” She smiled sadly at him as she paused in her book.

”Is everything alright?”

She put a bookmark in her book and put him on her lap. “Oh your getting big aren’t you! You see I have to make a really difficult decision. One of them could separate me from someone I love and the other could hurt someone else I love.”

”That sounds like a hard decision. If it was me I would pick whatever one kept everyone safe because even if your separated from someone at least they are healthy.”

Mother smiles brightly at him, every time she did he felt like he was young all over again. “Your right. My very smart boy. Thank you Ichigo.”

”It’s no problem.”

She lays Kusuriuri against her and begins reading from her book. Her arms are warm. So different from the suffocating cold that he’s never been able to shake off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Isshin is a piece of shit once again.  
> ——  
> Kusuriuri’s old ass uses mother and father to address his parents because he’s meant to respect them. Sometimes when he’s really happy he’ll call Masaki mom but it’s a very, very rare occurrence.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally reloaded the page and had to rewrite the entire chapter.
> 
> In this chapter parents argue and you find out how shitty Kusuriuri’s past is.
> 
> Ugh. Im tired. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

There is arguing going on outside of the thin door. His mother’s voice is screeching in anger and fathers is low but quickly loosing its calm.

The twins look distressed and on the verge of tears. They did not know what was happening but they knew it was loud. Lisa pulls out her phone and puts some kind of colourful cartoon on it calms them down some.

Kusuriuri hates that he doesn’t know how to help them.

(He looks put the window- which is more of a hole in the wall- he can see the other children. He does not even know their names. They look happy.

”Stop looking out there! They are different than you boy!”)

Kusuriuri swings his short legs, each time they swing in they hit the medicine box in a dull beat.

A crash is heard. He flinches. “Do you know why mother and father are arguing?”

Shinji’s face scrunches up in displeasure. “Yeah kid. She wants to keep you safe from something scary but Isshin disagrees with her decisions for selfish reasons.”

”Oh.”

Urahara somehow gets dragged into the argument, their voices blend together into a mess. He can’t make out what they’re saying despite how loud it is.

A particularly loud yell makes him wince. Hiyori notices and quietens down for the first time since he had met her.

She shuffles over to him and covers his ears with her hands.

(“Why do you even keep it around. It’s a waste of recourses. We’re short enough already!”

His hand shakes as he drags the brush down the paper. The ink has been watered down so much it’s a light grey instead of black and the thin paper struggles to hold it all. The wobbly lines bleed out making it look even worse.

The kanji has no power.

”Useless! Do it again!”)

Kusuriuri searches his medicine box, every nick and scratch is engraved in his memory. He’s had the thing for so long now. The bottom left corner is slightly scorched, the metal mildly warped, from a particularly difficult Mononoke.

The ropes are soft from use and frayed very slightly. Still he does not need to repair them anytime soon.

Something shatters and Kusuriuri curls in on himself, memories he had sought to forget bringing themselves to the front of his mind.

His other self starts humming.   
**“It rains in here when you are sad.”**

How long had it been since he had been sad, he had become detached after hearing the story of Mononoke after Mononoke. Of hearing the worst humanity had to offer for seven hundred years.

Kusuriuri feels angry often though even that has begun to dull, he feels minutely happy sometimes. More often he is amused.

His vision blurs and he feels like he is falling. The yelling dulls out into silence all kusuriuri can feel is the pressure of the icy cold water. 

* * *

A kick is sent into his chest, father is angry. There is wood spilled out across the ground.

”YOU USELSS CHILD! YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING!” His voice is deep, it booms over the field, he is not so far. The voice hurts.

He’s kicked into the floor again. Sandled foot pushing his face into the dirt.

The sun light blurs into the sky in his hazy vision. His limbs are weak and everything is hot. Cicadas can be heard everywhere. They blend in with everything else.

Why is everything so fuzzy?

**”You have a fever you pathetic thing.”**

He throws up at the next kick into his stomach.

* * *

It was a particularly bad day. Both his parents were screaming at him and the voice in his head was too. 

He let himself pass out at the writing desk despite the punishment it would bring.

* * *

**”Weak. Weak. Weak. Weak.”**

* * *

Mother grabs its hair roughly with her bony fingers, she was once beautiful but age had not been kind. “Stupid thing! I gave up everything for you!”

She had wanted the Mononoke child for power and wealth, she did not expect to loose her own.

The heir of a noble line had died only to be replaced by a Mononoke abomination. His parents families had not been pleased. Both had been stripped of their noble names and branded, never to return again.

A harsh slap stung its face, it dips its brush back into the watery ink and tries again.

The kanji was written perfectly despite the poor resources.

The kanji held no power.

* * *

I’m so tired.

* * *

Father has decided that punching and kicking wasn’t effective enough. 

He examines his sword. It has a plain wooden sheath and handle, it’s blade has been sharpened poorly. There is rust covering it in patches.

It will do.

* * *

The Mononoke blood soaks onto the ground. 

_”How pretty.”_

* * *

It looks into the pond at its reflection. It’s features are too sharp for a human. Too perfect. It never scars and it heals quickly. 

Other than its injuries there is not a single blemish on its skin.

Its eyes are dull.

* * *

I’m so tired.

* * *

The Mononoke child chokes on more blood than his body holds. A sickly display of blue, yellow and purple blooms on its paper pale skin. Its ribs shudder and creak with every breath.

The Mononoke child coughs it’s blood up onto the floor.

The Mononoke blood soaks onto the ground. 

_”How pretty.”_

* * *

The Mononoke child is jolted awake, the voice in its head screams at it. Screams at everyone really.

Its father pins it down, his large hands covering the Mononoke child’s skinny throat. Father points the sword at his child.

* * *

The Mononoke blood soaks onto the ground. 

_”How pretty.”_

* * *

The Mononoke blood soaks onto the ground. 

_”How pretty.”_

* * *

The Mononoke blood seeps from every cut, every break, every crack in its flesh. The Mononoke blood is dark like it’s nature.   
The Mononoke blood is near black.

_”How pretty.”_

* * *

The Mononoke blood soaks onto the ground. 

_”I hate you.”_

* * *

_You promised me love._

_You promised to look after me!_

_YOU PROMISED WE WOULD BE HAPPY!_

_What does that mean?_

_No ones told us yet._

* * *

The village bursts into flames, the ground is seeped in Mononoke blood, in its anger, its hate, its despair.

The Mononoke child kills all of them.

* * *

I’m so tired

* * *

The Mononoke child wanders for miles, the blood that remains in its body slowly seeps out of it. In its left hand a plain old rusty sword is gripped tightly. Red has dried into brown.

It wanders.

* * *

I’m tired.

* * *

I-

* * *

I want-

* * *

I want to die.

* * *

It steps onto the stone walls of the bridge, knife still clutched tightly in its hand.

Beneath the waters run fast and high after the storm that had just gone by.

The Mononoke child can not bear to look at the river. Instead it turns around and lets itself fall.

Water fills his lungs, piercing every nerve with ice. It suffocates and falls to the cold floor of the river.

**”RELEASE.”**

The sword in his hand warps into something beautiful. Not that the Mononoke child sees.

It is dead.

* * *

Strong arms pull him up and out of the river. His other self soaking wet and shivering holds him close, whispers in his hair.

It had been so long since he had thought back to those memories, so tiring. 

Ichigo goes to sleep.

* * *

The medicine seller watches the pregnant women stand in front of the Mononoke. She refuses him killing them. She says that she will give birth to them too.

He says that it can’t happen, because that never ends well, it can’t. (The Mononoke child laughed as blood soaked its skin, cried as it suffocated. It’s tears hidden in the murky water.)

But he agrees to not slay the Mononoke in the end, her eyes only hold love.

* * *

”I’m sorry Ichigo. I didn’t mean for it to escalate that far.” Ichigo does not move, his eyes fixed onto nothingness.

Tessai let’s out a huff. “Pre-reincarnation trauma. It’s rare but sometimes things can bring up memories from a past life. He should be fine.”

Masaki holds her boy close and promises to do better.

(In the door way Isshin scowls, the plan obviously wouldn’t have worked anyways if Ichigo was going to stop working at just a little shouting.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The old mans gaze covers the forest clearing, there resting against one of the trees is a boy.
> 
> The top half of his yukata had slipped off his shoulders, bunching down at his waist. All of his ribs were visible, if he had been a normal human he definitely would have been dead. Flawless red lines stretch across his skin, his ears are pointed and his nails sharp and purple.
> 
> In his hand a decorated sword his held tightly.
> 
> “Do you need food?” The man holds out a piece of bread. The boy shakes his head.
> 
> “But you can feel hunger can’t you?” The boy nods.
> 
> “Come on. I have enough for myself, take it.” The boy takes the bread.
> 
> “Do you have a name?” The boy pauses in eating the bread and shakes his head sadly.
> 
> “Well why don’t you stay with me. You see I’m a medicine seller so I travel a lot. If you like I could teach you?”
> 
> The boy smiles nervously, it is enhanced by the bluish purple on his top lip.  
> —————  
> His other self is crying a constant string of apologies, it does not match its ethereal face.
> 
> The other self lays out the newly bought paper smoothly on the ground, it is thick and absorbent. The ink only has enough water for using it. Gently other self places the brush in the Mononoke child’s hand. Guiding him they put the tattered remains of their hearts onto the page.
> 
> The kanji spells out,‘Forgiveness.’
> 
> While it doesn’t do anything the kanji glows with power.
> 
> Otherself holds the Mononoke boy close perhaps they both would have cried if the Mononoke boy hadn’t forgotten how.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the misery of the last chapter have some happiness.

When Ichigo wakes up he does not recognise his surroundings. In the chair next to him a boy is sat.

”Ah! Your awake! I’m Ishida Uryu!”

He nods at the boy,”Kurosaki Ichigo.”

”I’ll be back in a minute I just have to to someone that your awake!” Uryu hops out of the chair and runs out the door without waiting for a response. Ichigo looks out the window.

**”The sky is pretty today.”**

”Yes.”

A small bird lands on the ledge of the open window, Ichigo rubs its head gently. More birds flock to the window. Some come in and land on his lap, one sits in his hair.

Giggles come from the doorway. It seems that Uryu has brought his mother, it had to be. He looked so much like her.

”Hello, I’m Ishida Kanae. Masaki had been sat here for hours but she really needed to get some sleep and eat. She finally agreed when Uryu said that he would watch you.” Kanae places her hand on his forehead, Ichigo watches energy flow of her hand into the air. He wonders if she could see that or if it was his special sight.

”Hm. You seem to be ok. I’m sure Masaki will be awake in a few hours.”

Ichigo nods again, one of the birds on his lap pecks at the mirror hung around his neck.

Kanae snorts,”She said that you were a child of many words. I can see that she was correct.”

He stares at her with a deadpan expression.

Uryu giggles again and climbs back into the chair.

”Is there anything you want before I go?” Ichigo points to the box in the corner of the room. He would like to check if he has everything in there.

She nods and struggles with the box but she manages to get it over.”Oh that’s heavy! I’ll be back later ok?” 

”Yes mama!” Was Uryu’s energetic response.

Ichigo nods. The boys are left alone as the bird fly out the window. Ichigo puts a single finger out and the middle draw on his box slides open, one of his scales glides out over to him.

Uryu watches on with wide eyes. The scales drop their bells, turn around and make a shaking motion at him. There are no Mononoke nearby- or shinigami.

He lets the scales drop into his lap and leans back onto the pile of pillows behind him. “Where am I?”

”My home.”

”Hm.”

Uryu starts rambling, he tells Ichigo about his day filling in the silence. Apparently the boy is homeschooled. 

While the boy is rambling he tilts his mirror slightly towards him, the boy is dressed similar to his mother in whites and blues. Tilting the mirror the other way he can see outside, a friendly spirit of protection waves at him. The air is no longer blanketed in read. Instead it is bright colourful and clear. 

Just how it should be.

* * *

Ichigo sit’s with his legs hanging of the bed, the sun has risen to the top of the sky. Out from her pocket she pulls out a red glove with some kind of pattern on the palm.

”I took this from Urahara’s” She had explained some of the spiritual stuff that had been withheld from him. Ishida Ryuuken was also here. They were going to check the state of his soul.

There were a lot of factors to consider like his apparent hybrid blood and the influx of locked away memories.

With a firm push on the chest his soul separates from his body. Everyone stares.

Ichigo pats his ears and finds them pointy, he roams his tongue over his teeth, sharp. His nails are purple and sharp also, he smiles.

He looks at his chest, There is a metal plate attached to him a chain leading from his soul to his body. What everyone else couldn’t see was how the chain was wrapped in hundreds of rainbow like threads.

His mother continues to stare at him. Silently she raises her hands and traces his changed features, her expression softens and she pats him gently on the head.

Looking inwards Ichigo could feel his other self pouting. It seems that he too wanted head pats.

Ichigo decides to do something he hadn’t done in a long time. He takes his mirror of wanders over to a bigger space in the room and crushes the mirror in his grip. As it shatters into light it swirls in a circular motion and forms a larger mirror. Easily the height of an adult. His reflection shows other self who steps out of the mirror.

As the sword was still sealed his hair did not float and there were no gold markings.

The mirror shrunk back down, other self grabbed it before it could hit the floor.

Masaki seems to have some kind of revelation,”You’re the one Ichigo keeps talking to!” Other self laughs and nods. 

With a dramatic pose Ichigo point at otherself and goes,”This is also me. Just taller and more awesome.”

Ryuuken is quietly fascinated by the entire thing. Masaki’s mother instincts tell her to hug otherself. His face lights up.

**”I have been. _Blessed.”_**

Everyone laughs except Masaki who looks really confused. It seems she didn’t understand.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which if you don’t have magical tattoos makeup tends to also work.
> 
> In my opinion I think Masaki would be the type of mother to go, you can do this so long as you are aware and prepared to deal with the fallout.
> 
> This entire chapter is just Ichigo with nail polish, I have been, so tired recently.
> 
> Blrgh.

He was _finally_ in his own home again. Ichigo hadn’t realised what having the luxury of his own room, his own safe space, was like until he got it then had to leave it for days.

His eyes roamed the splash of colours that coated his walls, in his opinion the room was still rather empty. At least he had years in the future to buy trinkets, charms and other odds and ends.

Lifting the mirror he reflected it around, it had become a habit he did not want to be caught of guard again. While he could partially see into the realm of spirits that layered on top of the living realm (and maybe the dead) spirits could still hide from him as he had a flesh and blood body. The mirror however allowed him to see everything.

It was useful. Lately he had begun to notice something flitting about in the background, that would have to be investigated.

Father had tried to return, he was quickly pushed out. Apparently there was no reason for him to be here as his belongings had already been moved.

Isshin had glowered at Ichigo throughout the entire conversation. (He ignored the familiarity of it- a parent blaming a child for its problems.)

Ichigo looked at the spiritual arts learning books sat on his bookshelf, once his soul was deemed to be in top working order he would be allowed to try some. Normally one would struggle without a tutor of some kind but as a noble father had been brought the highest quality books available.

The notes taken within were also very useful.

Mother may have also neglected to hand a few other items to father as well, this included any small family items that had been passed down and a photo album (because despite being far behind in technology they did have computers and camera’s in some places).

After some negotiating with mother she had also handed Ichigo the 12 book series Seireitei rules and regulations and the a very large book titled noble houses- a guide to being respectable. He had definitely scoffed at that title as in his experience nobles were selfish little pricks.

”I really don’t see why you would want books like that.”

”Well I’m going to have to deal with them someday right? From just a little of what I have read they think living people are ill mannered and helpless.”

”So your going to ruthlessly out-polite the upper ranks?”

”Perhaps.”

The grin on his mother’s face would have been terrifying to everyone but her children. 

Masaki roamed around in her skirt pocket and pulled out a little bag tossing it onto his bed. “You looked happy to see those marking things on your face, while you wouldn’t get away worth the red ones the blue on your lips and the purple nails won’t get you into trouble. Just know that you’ll be the one dealing with the consequences of how people think of you.”

That was. Very nice of her. Sure it would cause a hassle and definitely bullying he was seven hundred years old and hadn’t care about what humans thought of him in almost as long.

He examined the shade of the nail polish against the sun. In his opinion it was the perfect shade.

Time to learn how to paint nails.

* * *

Tatsuki sat in the quiet corner scowling at anyone that tried to bother her. Kurosaki has suddenly disappeared about a week ago and she missed her new playmate even if it was more, sit there and watch him so hard stuff than play.

So she was very happy when he showed up again, only when she saw his face she had to double check.

Because Ichigo was wearing lipstick.

On one lip.

In fact the way it had been done made him look like he was smiling even when he was frowning.

Huh.

The teachers took one look at him and sighed, they had long since stopped bothering with him. After the hyped up toddlers with lots and lots of paint incident they feared what would happen.

(If you want to know the teachers hadn’t been very happy to see a four year old with sharp sewing needles and had tried to confiscate them. Unfortunately for them Kurosaki has been armed with sweets. _Lots and lots of sweets._ Once distributed the children were hyper.

But no. Kurosaki hadn’t stopped there. Somehow he had gotten his hands onto _several open tins_ of paint. The rest could easily be filled in. Essentially they haven’t bothered Kurosaki since.)

Kurosaki waves at his mother and chased of all the bully kids from her area. As was routine he sat down and brought out his ta-,what was the word? She frowned. Tapestry! Yeah that was what he had called it.

Kurosaki brought out his tapestry project for today and once again carefully picked the right colours, thread it through the needle and started stabbing.

His nails were purple. But momma said that people do that to be pretty and the older girls in the dojo didn’t wear nail polish.

But Kurosaki was pretty strong, he did punch the bully in the playground after all.

In fact it must be a lot of work to be pretty _and_ strong. That would mean double the coolness!

Tatsuki wondered how she would look with red. So lost in her musings she failed to notice Kurosaki’s short giggle.

(She was very pleased that the next day he brought in an assortment of different colours. All the girls that day sat at the table as he went around carefully painting them. One of the teachers had even joined in! It was fun!) 

_Ichigo may or may not have knocked out the boy who had tried to make fun of him. The rest quickly left him alone._


	9. Chapter 9

Ichigo stared at the tree. Or what used to be a tree? Where there was once a tree less than a minute ago?

Whatever. 

Ichigo stared at the place the tree _used_ to be, the place which was now nothing more than some scorched ground.

”How. Did you manage to mess up _Hainawa_ that badly.”

Ichigo stared at Hiyori who had the unfortunate job of teaching him the begginings of kido.

Kido was a lot different to the spells he usually used. His Mononoke blood giving him a natural ability to create wards, charms and other such things. Usually he just had to throw a bit of blood on it and think about what he wanted it to do.

This was definitely not the same. In fact when his attention had been brought to the absolutely _ridiculous_ amounts of reiatsu that leaked from him, he had been appropriately shocked.

Sure he had been in possession of his own energy before- which he now knew was called reiatsu- it was _nothing_ like what he was used to.

Primarily because Mononoke fed on human emotion which he then harnessed during fights and turned it toward his opponent. The fact his opponent was also a Mononoke meant that he was taking away its energy sources as well.

Two problems with one stone. (Leave the birds alone you’re all assholes.)

Ichigo smirked,”Perhaps I should practice control exercises _first?”_

Hiyori sputtered which was honestly becoming a common occurrence as it seemed like everyone but mother had absolutely no common sense at all. “WELL I DIDN’T EXPECT YOU TO FUCK UP HAINAWA THAT BADLY!”

Not like she could talk, her own energies were even more of a disaster than his own. 

”Hm.”

Her eyebrow twitched,”Just- _how?_ Hainawa is a _binding kido!_ It’s not even a complicated one!”

Ignoring her he started looking around for a good place to sit down. Perhaps some good old meditation would fix the problem.

* * *

”I. Have made. A horrible mistake.” Hiyori glared at him from where she was tied to a tree. With hainawa.

She has been there for three hours. Hiyori was seriously starting to regret bringing the idea of Ichigo learning kido.

In Ichigo’s opinion he still didn’t have enough control, in fact he wouldn’t even consider having barely enough control until he could completely hide his presence.

He continued his meditation.

* * *

Hey! Came ta check in when Ichigo’s presence completely disappeared!” Shinji leant against the large rock Ichigo was sat on, smiling as usual.

”I! HAVE BEEN STUCK TO THIS TREE! FOR _THREE HOURS!_ ” Hiyori was absolutely fuming. Unfortunately, due to _unforeseen_ circumstances, she couldn’t get herself out by destroying the tree. 

She glared once again at the ofuda stuck on her chest where the chain of fate would be, it was proventing her from accessing her energies.

”So kido’s goin’ well?”

Ichigo thought about it then evenly stated without opening his eyes or moving a muscle, ”She’s distracting.”

“ _DISTRACTING?_ I’LL SHOW YOU DISTRACTING!”

Ichigo ignored her. So far he had been able to extend his senses out for what he estimated to be ten miles. He was quite proud of his progress actually.

* * *

”OI! BRAT! ANSWER ME GODDAMMIT!”

Hiyori looked at the boy from her place on the tree. Ichigo did not move.

”Are- Are you asleep?” She stared in disbelief.”He’s asleep. He’s actually asleep.”

The sun was setting and she was still attached to the tree.


	10. Chapter 10

Something Ichigo was finding very odd was the distinct lack of Mononoke _anywhere._

Other than the hollow-mononoke that had been by his window a year ago there was not a single one to be found. Even when mother had taken them out of Karakura and they had explore random places for a week.

It wasn’t just the town the Mononoke seemed to be gone.

_Weird._

In fact it should be completely impossible, there should be no end to the Mononoke as, human emotions???

You can’t stop that.

Not that he was complaining it was very relaxing to not be chasing down Mononoke all day every day. Though other self was beginning to get a little bored, he liked killing them.

Which fair.

However where there was currently a lack of Mononoke the hollow situation was not the same. There were a fuck ton of those assholes.

So he began experimenting. 

It turns out that whatever had happened to him when he had been put in this new body had changed how his sword worked.

So long as he knew the form of what he was fighting like ‘hollow’ or ‘quincy’ he could release his sword into what he now called ‘stage one’.

Stage one was essentially blue blade which he could lengthen, the down side was that it was a Quincy blade which destroyed souls.

So bad.

If he knew the form and either the truth or regret of his opponent he could enter ‘stage two’ which functioned the same as stage one in the fact it was a blue blade that could change between knife length and sword length. However he could fire energy blasts from this one called Getsuga Tenshou and it purified souls instead of destroying them.

Stage three was the same as it always had been. Very powerful purifying sword.

”Any idea’s as to why I have these new abilities.”

”I think the spirit you call your other self absorbed what would have been your zanpakuto. Thus diluting your shinigami and hollow powers.”

**”Is that why I suddenly feel feelings and have white hair.”**

”Probably.”

**”Hn.”**

”Wait a second, the name of a zanpakuto is meant to increase its power right? So what _is_ it’s name?”

The was a silence from the two spirits.

**”We-** **_don’t have the slightest of an idea.”_ **


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big time skip because writing Ichigo's childhood is really hard for me for some reason and I already have to do it with another story. Anyways this is where all the fun is at.  
> If you did actually want to read more about little Ichigo/kusuriuri give me idea's and I will make chapters for them.

Rukia jumped from one lamppost to the next, the moonlight allowing the people to travel the streets a little more comfortable in the darker patches of the path. She flicked her eyes around in search of the hollow that was eluding her. The energy in this town was far more than she had been expecting, a group of heavy presences blanketing the place. Alas she didn't have the sensory skills needed to sense through them.

Deciding to change her methods as they weren't getting her anywhere she let herself phase through the walls. She hoped that perhaps she would come across someone who had a dead relative, while that wasn't a good thing at least she would be able to find the hollow.

She passed through multiple dark and silent houses, while a few did have small shrines set up for friends and relatives none of them seemed to have any malicious energy. Once again she cast out her senses, _there!_ For a split second she felt the dark presence of a hollow. Rukia focused on its reiatsu, so much so that she was no longer seeing her surroundings. 

Then she found her eyes assaulted by colours.

Skidding to a stop she looked around, this room was completely different to any others she had seen. All four walls were covered in artwork, scented candles were lit on the desk, shelves full of small statues, charms, and so many other trinkets. By the end of the bed was a large wooden box that made her mildly uncomfortable, it seemed to be irritating her reiatsu senses for some reason. What caught her attention most in the cluttered room was what sat on the bookshelf.

_It caught her attention because she had read those books._

_How did a human get shinigami books, not just that but noble_ _clan etiquette._

She had been so interested in the books that she didn't even realize when the door opened, Rukia only the teenager when she found herself chained down by bakudo number four, Hainawa.

"Hello Shinigami-san. What might you be doing here?" The boy looked a lot like Kaien at first glance but a closer look allowed her to quickly spot the differences. For one his hair was far longer and bright orange. His face was slimmer with a softer look. Blue eyes gazed at her almost assured that she wasn't a threat to him. 

Whether it was because he expected her to not say anything or because he could easily defeat her worried Rukia. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a quiet,"Well?" It didn't seem like he was impatient with her more just noticing that her mind had drifted.

She decided to be honest. "I was looking for a hollow but I'm having trouble sensing it. 

The not-Kaien boy frowned and let go of the kido. "Odd I don't sense one."

Then they heard a crash from downstairs.

Both of them ran down nearly tripping over each other multiple times, what looked to be his mother had a flickering bow in her hands. Two twin girls were at the feet of the hollow. A wooden pole (she thinks its a table leg) flew past her head and hit the hollows mask hard enough to crack it. The table leg suffered unfortunate disintegration.

She distracted the hollow while the boy got his sisters inside of the house, he was very efficient and was back out side after only a few minutes. The hollow seemed to be strangely strong, by the time the boy had gotten back out with some strange looking sword in hand she already had a deep gash across her chest.

It was odd, she could feel shinigami powers within him despite him being a living boy, it seemed like he kept trying to do something but the hollow would quickly attack him before he had the chance.

There was a moment where the hollow stepped back and Rukia took her chance,"Human let me lend you my powers! It's too strong and quick for either of us to fight. I will have to pierce your heart with my sword!"

He looked at her in determination,"Ok. Hand me your sword shinigami."

Something in this moment felt right, as if time was always going to lead them here no matter how far they diverged. "Its not shinigami. My name is Kuchiki Rukia."

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

Rukia was blinded by a bright light, once she could see again she looked over at Ichigo. He was wearing a normal Shihakusho except for three parts, there was a pattern on the sleeves and a red eye on the back along with geta instead of the usual sandles. There was red around his eyes and on his nose. Pointy ears and nose as well. 

How odd.

She watched as he held the sword out in front of him and said,"Your form is a hollow." The swords teeth clicked and then it unsheathed. A blue, silver blade cut the hollows mask in half with one clean slice, with the enemy gone she let herself collapse in exhaustion.


	12. Chapter 12

Rukia awoke in a colourful room which set off all of last nights memories. She had given her power to a human???? She had broken the law.  
Other than her internal panicking it was relatively peaceful- A person appeared, half bent over the bed she was sleeping on.

"Good morning Kuchiki-san" Kurosaki spoke with a friendly tone, his face only hinting at mild amusement. Rukia fought the desire to scream.  
He chuckled and stepped away, she watched as he sat back at the desk. 

It seemed that Kurosaki wasn't bothered about what she did, happily leaving her to her own devices. Sitting up she was amazed at the fact that there was no pain.

Shoving a hand in her white kimono she felt around her side. 

Completely healed.

Whoever Kurosaki was he was skilled. Then she realized that she had no idea what to do. 

Kurosaki placed the eyeliner brush down on some tissue and made a pleased sound at his work. Rukia found it odd- research showed that it was generally socially unacceptable for males to wear makeup.

Even in soul society it was seen as a little odd. Then again Kurosaki's everything wasn't exactly a model of human normalcy.

"If you need a gigai you can probably get one from the shady shopkeeper, however I wouldn't trust what he gives you. He's a nosy pain in the ass and despite his act he is smart." Kurosaki hummed in thought, he knew his father still lived there which would be a nuisance. However Kuchiki had given him her powers despite the law so he could deal.

"I'm aware. However I do need a gigai and I can't get them from any usual suppliers." Which he knew just meant the gotei, there wasn't any other suspicious genius outcasts roaming around earth.

Looking up at her he grinned,"I'll be coming with you then!"

* * *

  
Kuchiki had no idea how yet Kurosaki had found a way out of his body. She wondered over what caused his shihakusho to manifest in such an odd way.   
His long hair was tied up in a bun leaving the eye on the back exposed, she had jumped when the thing moved and looked at her. Afterwards it went back to how it was before and stayed there. Inwardly she wondered if she had just hallucinated the entire thing.

The two spirits walked up to the near desolate candy shop, two kids sweeping out the front. She heard Kurosaki mutter under his breath about letting crazy exiles raise children.

The loud red haired one that reminded her of a more irritating Renji stomped up to them,"AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?" Kurosaki just picked the kid up by his shirt and placed him to the side, Rukia followed him as he wandered silently into the store.

A cat was stretched out on the desk, its head flicked up as it noticed the entrance of the two spirits. Something about it seemed off to Rukia.  
Smiling Kurosaki went and gently pet the cat- it seemed surprised at the action.

"Hello Shihoin." Rukia's eyes widened. A Shihoin? She had read that some members of their family, mostly the main branch, could turn into a feline form. This was the first time she had witnessed it herself though.

Shihoin blinked slowly, after a few seconds she gave in and pushed her head into the hand. "Hello Kurosaki. You seem, _civil_."

Kurosaki huffed and continued scratching at her neck,"My disagreement is with father and Urahara. I've seen you watching about, I heard from Hirako that you had a mild argument with them over the issue."

Shihoin relaxed now knowing that the boy wasn't angry with her,"I never quite agreed with it in the first place, I hadn't quite realized how desperate he's become."

"He hides it well."

She sighed solemnly,"He didn't used to. I almost miss how open he used to be, awkward too. It was amusing."

Rukia stood there feeling out of place, from the sounds of it something had happened causing a rift between Ichigo and his father. Whatever it was had Urahara planning the entire mess, that was the only reason she could think to explain the conversation that had happened before her.

"So what you doing over here with a Kuchiki?"

Kurosaki grimaced,"As much as it pains me to ask Kuchiki-san needs a gigai."

The Shihoin hopped down onto the floor and padded into the back of the building,"I'll go retrieve Kisuke."

More squabbling sounded from outside and Kurosaki walked out with a frown. This left Rukia in the shop all by herself.   
Not having anything to do she stood by the door and listened and Kurosaki scolded the boy, who she learned was called Jinta, for bullying Ururu.

The poor girl looked surprised to see someone standing up for her, inwardly Rukia promised to bring her some sort of gift to cheer her up. She certainly deserved it.

Two sets of geta walked into the store at the same time, Urahara having been pried from his experiment and Kurosaki done telling children to behave.

The two observed each other. A fan popped up in front of Urahara's face,"Geta? Does someone happen to be copying me?" The tone was filled with amusement though, just friendly banter.

"You know I have my pre-reincarnation memories. If anything your copying me." That caught Rukia's attention.

How rare it was to remember who you were in a previous life! It certainly explained some of his eccentricity. 

Kurosaki shook his colourful sword in a rhythm causing the bell to ring out a tune. Despite whatever disagreement was going on between the two they couldn't help but banter.

A shinigami captain shop keeper and a mononoke hunter medicine seller walk into a room. Sounds like the title of a comedy book.

Urahara laughed,"I thought that was a medicine chest! It seems you beat me to it if you were born more than a hundred years ago."  
Kurosaki grinned sharply,"It seems I did win then."

A knock on the wall brought their attention, Shihoin who was now in human form and clothed was stood there with raised eyebrows. "Kuchiki still needs her gigai."

The two pouted but agreed, Kuchiki-san looked like she had just witnessed something truly horrifying.   
Rukia stood by Kurosaki as the shop keeper ran some measurements and disappeared with an,"I'll be back!" 

Eventually the curiosity beat her,"So Kurosaki. When was you born previously?" She watched as the boy chuckled and responded with a quiet few hundred years ago. 

That would be before she was born in the world of the living. So technically _he's_ the older one.

Urahara came skipping in with a body slung over his shoulders,"It's free~ Kuchiki-san!" He sung with a melodic tone in his voice.  
Her eyebrows raised,"It is?"

Before Urahara could respond Kurosaki butted in,"He owes me."

A brief selection of emotions that she couldn't quite decipher flashed across the shop keepers face. When he managed to squash his emotions back down he nodded seriously,"I do."

Thus Rukia got her gigai.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kusuriuri doesn't really like Urahara but at the same time it's rare for him to meet someone with such similar quirks. He can't help but mess around.
> 
> Also Urahara already knew he remembered at least part of his previous life. He has no idea about Mononoke and Kusuriuri himself. He also doesn't know that he's a non-aging spirit guy of seven hundred.
> 
> Rukia is majorly confused.


End file.
